Monday, February 1, 2021

Tulips for Elsie
by Jonathan Potter

The day before you died I thought I'd bring
You tulips for your bedside table, bright
Ones, pink and white, to give your gaze a place
To rest, to make your labor seem less harsh.
I told my daughter so, my four-year-old
Who'd told me I should visit you, who'd hinted:
Your work, this dying business you were in,
Was making worldly things seem flimsy, thin.
The day moved on and tulips left my mind, though,
Until I thought of you again, too late,
The night descending, bringing sleep's regrets.
The morning came and with its obligations
Distracting me, I let my dream of tulip

Fields plow under and turned to hear the news.


Jonathan Potter, "Tulips for Elsie" from

Tulips for Elsie  (Korrektiv Press 2021).

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